Passion: Diaphonic Symphonia Novel - Chapter 16

Richard Tarten.

He was the man whom Jeong Taeui had described as having a good impression, which had earned him a scoff from Ilay. He was also the one who had helped Jeong Taeui enter this mansion easily.

He was impeccably dressed in a suit, perhaps having just returned from outside, and was in black attire today as well. With a freshness that never seemed gloomy in the slightest, he was ascending the stairs with a kind smile on his good-looking face.

Although Ilay had harshly criticized him as a pervert—and Christoph had also said something similar, though it wasn’t very trustworthy—he still had a neat and sophisticated aura today. He couldn’t understand what part of this gentlemanly man was perverted.

However, at this moment, such things didn’t matter to Jeong Taeui.

Richard Tarten, who stopped his gaze slightly surprised when he saw Jeong Taeui standing blankly on the second floor, was of no consequence.

Jeong Taeui’s gaze stopped on the man following a step or two behind him.

The man, who was conversing with Richard and occasionally shaking his head or responding with a few words, captured Jeong Taeui’s attention.

Tall and broad-shouldered, his well-built body was encased in a dark navy suit. A confident demeanor, almost arrogant, naturally emanated from him, as if he held an important position in some large corporation.

His neatly styled hair and narrow-rimmed horn-rimmed glasses were complemented by silver cufflinks on his sleeves and a silver tie pin on his straight tie. In some ways, he looked like a high-level professional in the fashion industry, but his aura was too sharp and chilling to be just that.

The man, who could be considered a competent rising lawyer if one disregarded his sharply honed, blade-like aura, familiarly pushed up his horn-rimmed glasses and followed Richard up the stairs.

Jeong Taeui, who had been looking at the man as if lost in thought, felt his gaze and met the man’s eyes as he slowly looked his way.

Their eyes met.

“…”

He tried to call the man’s name, but the words wouldn’t leave his tongue. Jeong Taeui realized then, anew, that when a person encounters a completely unexpected situation without any warning, both words and thoughts stop.

The expression on the man’s face, who had been conversing with Richard as they ascended, also vanished for a moment.

Though it had been closer to a languid sneer, he had worn some faint semblance of an expression, but at that moment, he looked at Jeong Taeui with a perfectly expressionless face, as if he had seen something that shouldn’t exist.

“Uh…”

Jeong Taeui opened his mouth, still dazed as if dreaming. But no words came from his tongue, which felt as if it could speak at any moment. His lips merely parted slightly.

Then, Richard, who was standing between the man and Jeong Taeui, spoke first.

“You were Christoph’s guest, weren’t you? Or was it Christina?”

Only then did Jeong Taeui turn his gaze and give a blank look to Richard, who was speaking with a gentle smile.

Only after hearing his warm voice, as he continued, “Did he treat you well?” did Jeong Taeui slowly regain his senses.

Indeed, this man was truly human. Even though everyone considered Jeong Taeui to be on Christoph’s side—and the man himself probably thought so too—his demeanor was so polite and courteous.

No, but that wasn’t the immediate problem.

“…”

What is this?

What happened?

Why is this man here?

He felt as if he were possessed by a ghost. And at the same time, a sense of failure washed over him. A chill ran down his spine.

Then, seeing Richard slightly raise an eyebrow, looking awkward as Jeong Taeui remained silent, he quickly answered.

“Yes, thanks to him…”

Perhaps he saw wrong. Perhaps he was so overworked today that he saw things. It made sense, as that man couldn’t possibly be here. Especially not dressed so neatly, like a businessman.

Jeong Taeui rubbed his temples. His eyes also felt gritty, so he pressed on his eyelids a few times. He hoped his vision would clear up properly.

“As I came in, I saw him at the stables.”

“Ah, yes… He seemed to have gone for a walk towards the forest.”

Jeong Taeui answered perfunctorily, glancing up at Richard. His handsome face, etched with a gentle smile, was clearly visible. Fortunately, his eyes didn’t seem to have been affected by fatigue.

Jeong Taeui slowly, very slowly, shifted his gaze. Over Richard’s shoulder, as if merely turning his gaze away, as naturally as possible.

And their eyes met again.

The man’s gaze, looking down at Jeong Taeui, was indifferent. The surprised, almost expressionless look that had briefly crossed his face earlier was nowhere to be seen. In that indifferent gaze, as if looking at a pebble rolling on the roadside, Jeong Taeui felt a chill run down his spine, but for a different reason than before.

Even if this man in front of him wasn’t the person Jeong Taeui knew, that icy cold sensation would surely have run to his fingertips.

Such an emotionless gaze that didn’t see people as people.

Jeong Taeui’s eyes trembled slightly, but he still met his gaze directly. He felt he shouldn’t avert his eyes.

Meeting his direct gaze, the man narrowed his eyes slightly. Perhaps he was annoyed, or perhaps he was intrigued.

Richard looked behind him, seeing Jeong Taeui’s unblinking gaze extending over his shoulder. And knowing that the man behind him was also looking at Jeong Taeui, he stepped aside and smiled.

“This is Christoph’s guest. I’ve seen him a few times since we briefly met at the front gate a few days ago, but we haven’t had a chance to talk separately. Ah… what was the name again…?”

Richard finally asked Jeong Taeui’s name. Jeong Taeui, standing his ground, merely flicked his eyes at Richard and opened his mouth.

“Ah. Jeong—”

“Christoph’s guest, you say. For that, he’s excessively ordinary. So ordinary it’s strange.”

But as Jeong Taeui was about to say his name, the man standing behind Richard stepped forward and spoke slowly.

He took another step closer. And with one more step, he was within arm’s reach of Jeong Taeui.

The man slowly raised his hand. A thin, dark blue leather glove approached Jeong Taeui’s chin. That gloved hand, which he hadn’t seen in a very long time.

Just before that hand touched Jeong Taeui’s chin, Richard’s voice was heard from behind, dissuading him.

“Rick. Stop it. He’s Christoph’s guest.”

“Stop it? That’s a strange thing to say. As if I’d do him any harm.”

The man snorted.

No, it’s not strange at all. If I knew just a little less about you, I would have been watching carefully to see when that hand would twist my neck.

Soon, his hand gripped Jeong Taeui’s chin. The cool touch of the leather rubbed his jaw.

“I didn’t know Christoph associated with such a person.”

The man said, laughing softly.

It was too easy to interpret. “How do you know Christoph?”

“I’m just here to get the books that Chris borrowed from someone I’m indebted to. …I don’t think that’s anything to glare at.”

Jeong Taeui replied in an ambiguous tone, neither formal nor informal, wishing that his face didn’t look too pale.

Damn… he’s going to kill someone with his eyes. …No. If you think about it, I happily came out while he wasn’t here and got caught, didn’t I?

He wanted to collapse onto the floor, but he barely managed to stand and face him. It was hard enough to maintain a poker face on a face that wanted to awkwardly laugh and diffuse the situation.

Suddenly, the hand gripping his chin brushed his lips. The thumb slowly traced his lower lip, then seemed to lightly delve into his mouth for a moment before pulling away.

“I see… I was wondering if I should go to Korea right after finishing this, or where to start digging.”

Very softly. As if a faint breeze brushed past.

A faint voice brushed his ears, which Jeong Taeui wouldn’t have heard if he hadn’t been tense.

But before the meaning of those words fully reached his mind, the man took a step back. Jeong Taeui only looked up at him with his eyes.

A cold amusement was faintly present in his cool eyes, which were tilted at an angle, looking down at Jeong Taeui. It was the smile of a cat that had caught a mouse.

“Well… fine. I’ll get a proper introduction later.”

The man said, turning to Richard. And he gestured for them to continue on their way.

“What’s wrong, showing interest in other people?”

Richard said jokingly, as if seeing something unusual, and began to move.

Richard, who seemed to have more to say but apparently decided to save it for another time, left a brief nod to Jeong Taeui and followed behind him. The man, who gave a subtle smile with his eyes just before turning around, soon ascended the stairs again.

Jeong Taeui watched their backs blankly until they rounded the landing and disappeared from view.

Jeong Taeui moved mechanically, like a puppet, with a dazed mind, until he returned to his room, showered, changed, and came out again.

Is this what it feels like to dream with your eyes open?

The feeling of unexpectedly encountering an unexpected person in an unexpected place, without any warning, is like dreaming with your eyes open when you think about it a moment later, even though you clearly exchanged words and felt their body heat.

“…Maybe I really was dreaming with my eyes open? Perhaps I overworked my body and brain too much today and fell asleep standing up for a moment.”

Jeong Taeui continued to haphazardly run his fingers through his still damp hair as he mumbled.

Then he suddenly fell silent and stood blankly in the middle of the room, his fingers buried in his hair, until at some point he let out a groan and shook his head vigorously, then sat down on a chair.

And he formed a hypothesis.

I dreamt.

Therefore, that was not Ilay.

“…Then where is that guy now?”

A question that burst out before he could even reach a proper conclusion escaped his lips. His own voice reached his ears. At that moment, he became dazed again.

It was then. From somewhere, like a hallucination, a reliable voice that had comforted him brushed past his ears.

“Don’t worry too much, Tae-yi. Surely, he would never think you ran away to avoid him.”

“…”

He thought it was comfort. He thought Kyle was comforting him, pitying his pale face. But reconsidering it at this point, was it truly comfort?

“He would never think you ran away to avoid him.”

“…He wouldn’t think that.”

As he added, “Why would he think that?” Jeong Taeui realized.

Those words were neither comfort nor solace. They were merely a sign, a precursor, that plainly conveyed the current reality.

“Wow… I really don’t have anyone on my side in this world.”

Jeong Taeui collapsed onto the table. Along with bitter betrayal, resentment towards Kyle surged anew.

Of course, he probably didn’t intentionally deceive him. Perhaps he didn’t even think he was deceiving him.

He didn’t know why Ilay was here, but if it was something that shouldn’t be publicly known, he might have been reluctant to say it himself. Perhaps he thought, “He’ll find out when he meets him there,” and thought lightly of it.

Kyle’s words might have meant, “I’ll make sure to tell him beforehand so he doesn’t get flustered when you encounter him unexpectedly.”

“No… this is still something I can resent enough.”

This time, he really wanted to sob. He buried his face in his arms, still sprawled on the table. And he made sobbing sounds. He even felt a tear or two welling up.

He kept muttering “sob, sob,” then at some point, Jeong Taeui fell silent.

“…Does that mean I shouldn’t act like I know him?”

Jeong Taeui, who muttered to himself, lifting his head at the sudden thought, stared blankly out the window for a while, then got up.

His head still ached and felt dazed as if he had been severely hit in the back of the head, but even amidst that, he was hungry. The memory of working hard in the study all afternoon briefly crossed his mind. And also the fact that there was still work left to do.

“Anyway, let’s eat first, and then think about it while I finish the rest of the work…”

Jeong Taeui rubbed his temples, which were starting to throb faintly, and left the room.

As he took a step, all the energy drained from his body. Fatigue suddenly seemed to multiply several times over, and he sighed, groaning, and massaged his neck and shoulders.

Jeong Taeui, who had languidly descended the stairs, was about to go down another floor to the dining room when he saw the study door open and dragged his feet towards it. And through the open crack of the door, he saw a familiar and annoying face.

Christoph was standing there.

He stood in the middle of the bookshelves, arms crossed, examining them. When Jeong Taeui entered the study, he gestured towards the bookshelves with his chin and said, “What, it’s not all organized yet. Why is this side—”

“Why didn’t you tell me that guy was here?”

Jeong Taeui ignored Christoph’s words and glared fiercely at him. Christoph looked at him with a face that seemed to ask if he had eaten something wrong.

“Who are you talking about?”

Christoph frowned and retorted fiercely.

At that moment, a vivid sense of reality washed over him, as if his dazed, dreaming brain had suddenly awakened, and Jeong Taeui shrieked.

“Ilay! Ilay Riegrow! I saw him just now! In this house! On those stairs!”

Jeong Taeui’s face, as he shrieked as if claiming to have seen a ghost, was indeed bluish, as if he had really seen a ghost. The blood drained from his face again at that thought.

Christoph’s eyes widened slightly, looking at Jeong Taeui suddenly flailing. His face clearly showed, “I don’t know what he ate, but this guy can actually act like this.”

“…Didn’t you know?”

When Christoph asked after a moment of silence, Jeong Taeui slumped to the floor.

Even though reality had clearly set in, and he had come up with plausible causes and effects for this situation in his mind, he still wished it wasn’t true.

He wished he had been daydreaming. He wished Christoph would tell him that Rick’s ghost sometimes appeared in this house. He had held onto a shred of hope.

As Jeong Taeui sat on the bare floor, leaning on his hands, lost in thought, Christoph, looking down at him, pulled a chair from a few steps away and sat down with his usual indifferent expression.

“He’s been in this house for two months.”

“…”

“I thought you followed him here to look for the books. You didn’t know you were coming here?”

“Who would have come if they knew?!”

He wouldn’t have come even if it killed him. Especially right after he had so confidently declared to that guy that he would leave. No, even if he had known and come, he would have immediately fled a hundred ri away from this mansion the moment he heard that Rita had told Ilay about his outing.

Jeong Taeui choked, his shoulders heaving, and took a deep breath. Christoph asked from beside him, “Are you crying?” and he yelled back, “I’m not crying!”